Initial Import of Employees into Folks

Folks Documentation
Folks Documentation
  • Updated

If you're responsible for setting up Folks, this guide is for you!

At Folks, our philosophy is to have fun while we perform. That's why we aim to provide you with an enjoyable experience, both during the implementation phase and in day-to-day use.

In this guide, you'll learn how to start your implementation process and find the resources you need to set up the platform.

Step 0 - Kick-off meeting with the Folks team

After the kick-off meeting, you'll receive your access codes and be ready to move on to step 1.

Step 1 - Logging in to the platform

When accessing the platform, click the icon at the bottom of the left-hand menu and select My Information. Here you can change your password and system language (see How can I Modify my Login Information).

To validate your company information, click Admin > Company > Control Panel in the left-hand menu.

Step 2 - Importing your employees into Folks

Once your information has been validated, the next step is to import your employee data into Folks.

This may be an opportunity for you to think about your organization structure, i.e. your positions, departments and working sites. If you create these elements before importing your employees, make sure that the values are identical in your import file.
  1. Open the import file provided by our team. If you have not received the file, please send a request to support@folksrh.com
  2. Fill in the required fields. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk. If you wish to add custom fields to the file, you must first create them in Folks. Values in drop-down custom fields must be separated by semicolons (example: Option1;Option2).
    Column Note
    Last name*  
    First name*  
    Employee number* The identification number must be unique.
    Position Must be identical to Folks. The position will be created if it does not exist.
    Department Must be identical to Folks. The department will be created if it does not exist.
    Working site Must be identical to Folks. The working site will be created if it does not exist.
    Union Must be identical to Folks.
    Job type Must be identical to Folks. See the list of supported job types on the Folks import page (Admin > Import/Export > Import Employee Information).
    Start date* Must use yyyy-mm-dd format
    Birth date (recommended) Must use yyyy-mm-dd format
    Recognition date (optional) Must use yyyy-mm-dd format
    Personal email  
    Corporate email  
    Language French ou English
    Gender M or F
    Address line 1  
    Address line 2  
    Address line 3  
    City  
    Province The province name must begin with a capital letter.
    Country The country name must begin with a capital letter.
    Postal code  
    Phone  
    Alternative phone  
    Work phone  
    Phone extension  
    SIN  
    1st emergency contact  
    1st emergency contact link  
    1st emergency contact phone  
    2nd emergency contact  
    2nd emergency contact link  
    2nd emergency contact phone  
    Hourly rate (recommended)  
    Annual salary (optional)  
  3. Save the file as CSV (semicolon separator) and import it (Admin > Import/Export > Import Employee Information). The following formats are also supported: .xlsx, .xls and .csv.
  4. Match the columns in your file to the correct fields and click Import.
  5. A report will be available once your file has been processed. If any errors are detected, please correct them before re-importing the file.
  6. Validate the information in the employee summary (Employee > Summary).

Step 3 - Viewing training sessions

Ask our customer success team to view our three training sessions.

We will then be able to assist you with the various steps involved in setting up the platform, such as user management.

To ensure that your meetings with our team are as effective as possible, it's crucial to get the right people together and familiarize yourself with the content in advance. Proper preparation is essential to maximize meetings and ensure the success of your project.

Once the setup is complete, you can plan your deployment and start using Folks! 🎉

Type_light-bulb__Size_small.svg Tip: When the time comes, share our introductory guides with your colleagues to introduce them to the platform.

Setup resources

A number of resources are available to help you become an expert on the system and your HR data.

Here are a few resources that may be of interest to you at the start of your process:

See our list of Folks training videos for more information on the platform's various functionalities.